How’s the inflation monster doing these days? Here’s the latest from the BLS:
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.8 percent before seasonal adjustment.
The gasoline index rose sharply in June and accounted for about two thirds of the seasonally adjusted all items change….The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in June, the same increase as in May….The index for all items less food and energy has risen 1.6 percent over the last year, the smallest 12-month change since June 2011.
Rising oil prices are showing up in higher gasoline prices, and that’s about it. Everything else is well under control and core inflation is at its lowest rate in two years. So maybe we should do something about unemployment instead, instead of worrying that it’s always 1979 all over again?
